The present invention is directed to a road side lug nut removal and tightening tool. The tool may also be used to lift a tire onto the axle of a car, or truck.
Many people have had a flat tire while driving their vehicle, and as a result have had to change a tire along the side of the road. However, it is often difficult to loosen the lug nuts as mechanics have a tendency to put the lug nuts on very tight (for safety reasons), and as lug nuts often get rusty. As a result, it is often necessary for the person changing the tire to get down on their knees in an effort to remove the lug nuts. When replacing the tire the person changing the tire may slide the wheel onto the lug bolts and as a result, disfigure the threads on the lug bolts. Problems also occur as the person changing the tire may find the tire too heavy, and as a result find it very difficult to put the tire back onto the lug bolts. As such, it is an object of the present invention to make it possible for a person to change a tire without requiring the person to get on their knees in an effort to either remove or tighten the lug nuts, or to lift the spare tire back onto the axle.
Lug wrenches are often used to remove lug nuts when flat tires occur. However, the physical strength required to turn lug wrenches is often too great, and while attempting to turn the lug wrench the person risks twisting their back. As the lug wrench is a very common tool to aid in tire changing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus, which incorporates the lug wrench. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tool that not only provides additional leverage to remove the lug nuts, but also can aid in lifting a tire back onto the axle.
The present invention is a tire changing aid to be used in conjunction with a lug wrench. The tire changing aid comprises a wrench support, a hollow extension bar, and lift brackets. The wrench support includes left and right brackets that are slidably mounted to the arc-shaped frame of the wrench support. The left and right brackets are equipped to secure a plate with apertures in a circular pattern that may align with the lug nuts of the tire to be changed. To remove or tighten lug nuts, the lug wrench is placed on one of the lug nuts and through the aligning aperture. The hollow extension bar has a slot at one end, which is then placed over a torque member of the lug wrench and used as a lever.
One advantage of the present invention is that it makes it easy to tighten and loosen lug nuts by an extension of the lug wrench, which gives the user four times the leverage of the lug wrench alone. A further advantage of the extension is that it allows the person changing the tire to use their body weight, rather than a twisting motion, to remove and tighten the lug nuts thus reducing the chance of injury.
The wrench support of the present invention may also be used as a lever to lift a spare tire back onto an axle by attaching the lift brackets to the wrench support, and placing the hollow extension bar under the lift brackets to be used as the fulcrum. As such, it is an object of the present invention to not only make removal and tightening of the lug nuts easy, but also to make it easy to place a tire onto the lug bolts. Still a further advantage of the present invention is that all movements are in a downward motion, thus reducing both the risk of injury and strength requirements. In addition, the person changing the tire is not required to get down on his or her knees.
A variety of plates may be used that are suitable for different tire lug configurations. As such a further advantage of the present invention is that since the plates are removable the present invention is suitable for all automobiles up to one-ton trucks, with single wheels. Still a further advantage of the present invention is that it may be stowed in a compact position, such that the parts will not become lost.